Smashed Pumpkins
It was November 1st and I began my brisk morning walk to my best friend Sara’s house. It was a typical late autumn Wisconsin morning, a layer of frost on the ground and the nip of winter in the air. I enjoyed my morning walks. They were really quite perfect… about a mile to be alone with my introvert self and then a half a mile joined by my dearest BFF. But on this particular morning, as I rounded the corner onto Sara’s street, I stumbled upon the aftermath of the night before.
Pumpkin after pumpkin lay smashed to smithereens!
As soon as I saw Sara I exclaimed “what happened out here!?”
With a bit of an upturned nose and the airs of a very mature 4th grader, she promptly replied “those teenagers.”
All the beautiful hand-carved creations of happy families were destroyed with the careless but calculated whimsy of teenagers.
We were appalled.
But with greater priorities on our minds, we trudged on to school carefully stepping over all the smashed pumpkins along the way.
What’s your favorite Halloween memory?
Any traditions that your family participates in each year? And please don’t tell me that you smash pumpkins too!
So, I probably shouldn’t go into too much detail of the “pumpkin bowling” we did the year I went to college…I’m just going to say it was a really big hill, and we had a lot of pumpkins…and the Statue of Liberty may or may not have been there…
Anyway, I don’t really recall that any one particular Halloween stands out to me. I just remember the world being a little different, and my brothers and sister and I would toss aside the plastic buckets our mom had given us to use, grab our pillow cases and hop on our bikes. We easily covered several miles of neighborhoods without a care in the world except for how much candy we could score. And when we returned home we would each pour out our pillowcases FULL of loot. That’s when the trading would begin. “I’ll give you 2 Snickers for 3 Reese’s PB cups.” “I’ll trade you ALL my Twizzlers for ALL your Sixlets.”
Good times. Now it’s just fun to get the pictures from my sister and older brother of their kids all dressed up and ready for a night of trick-or-treating. Here is a pic of my sibs and I from Halloween past (1988): http://db.tt/bD5tASAL
Hope you have a wonderful day, Jenni!! Happy Halloween! 🙂
Morgan, I love that! Thanks for sharing the pic. Pumpkin bowling sounds kind of fun 🙂
Kinda like Morgan, one specific Halloween doesn’t really stand out to me, although I definitely remember feeling special that I got to play the lead in the 2nd grade Halloween play. I was a little witch whose broomstick had broken! In fact, I still remember most of my lines!
Can we get a reinactment of this?
What perceptive timing Jenni, as we woke up Saturday morning to smashed pumpkins on our sidewalk. I also explained it to my kids as “those teenagers!”. Truthfully, I was so annoyed – thankfully, we hadn’t carved them yet, but my mind instantly goes to revenge – “if I ever catch those annoying little punks….” They better watch out!! 🙂
As we gear up for Halloween today (Alex is the tin man, Maddie is Dorothy, and Owen is the lion), my mind can’t help recalling our 5 wonderful Halloweens in Nashville. The reliably beautiful weather (we’ll be lucky if it reaches 50 today and the rain holds off), wonderful neighborhood filled with incredible friends, and how much I enjoyed the chili party back at my house. Great memories all 5 years!
Oh Holly! Halloween hasn’t been the same around here since you guys left. I loved being able to come and hang with all the families. Favorite memory of mine for sure!! Please send me a picture of your tin man, lion & Dorothy!